December 25 - memory of St. Spyridon of Trimifuntsky

'The one who loves Spiridon will not be left without a home.' Probably, many have heard this saying from the older generation of believers. Saint Spyridon of Trimifuntsky is a native of the island of Cyprus and a contemporary of Nicholas the Wonderworker, with whom he took part in the First Ecumenical Council. Miracles given through prayers to this wondrous saint are numerous both in previous centuries and today. According to the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church, the feast of the saint is celebrated on December 25 in a new style.

The childhood and youth of Saint Spyridon were spent in the Cypriot village of Assia, where, like the psalmist king David, he tended sheep from an early age. Having reached the required age, he got married and, together with his wife, raised their daughter Irina. However, his main thoughts were directed to the Lord God; He distributed part of the earnings from his daily labors to the poor, sang psalms every day, and got up at night to pray.
Spiridon's wife died early. Over time, when Constantine ascended the throne of the empire, the Christians of Trimyphunt chose Spiridon as their bishop. For a blameless life and burning spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ endowed Spiridon with gifts of grace. Through his prayer, people they were healed of mental and physical ailments, demons left the possessed, and the saint himself, without harm to himself, trampled on snakes and scorpions with his feet.
Like Archbishop Nicholas of Lycia, Saint Spyridon participated in the First Ecumenical Council, where he condemned the Arian heresy. He with a convincing speech spoke out against the skillful orator - an adherent of Arianism, conclusively refuted all his arguments and returned the erring one to an understanding of the Divine nature of the Savior.

At the same cathedral, Saint Spyridon clearly showed the essence of the Holy Trinity. When the Bishop of Trimyphus gripped a clay brick in his hand, water flowed out of it, and a flame rose upward. The saint said: “Here are three elements, but one brick. So it is in the Most Holy Trinity: there are three Persons, and the Divine is One ”.
When a severe drought occurred in Cyprus, which threatened to dry up all the crops, Saint Spyridon made a prayer, asking the Lord for rain. It started raining and pouring for several days. Then the Bishop of Trimifunta prayed again - and the rain was immediately replaced by good weather.
By the Providence of God, Spyridon was determined to heal the son of the emperor Constantine - the young Constantius. The happy father wanted to reward the bishop generously, but he humbly refused the payment. However, the emperor insisted - and then the bishop took the gold, but soon he gave it all to the poor. Constantine was amazed by the saint's absurdity, who became interested in Christianity and soon began to follow the Gospel commandments in everything. The emperor ransomed Christians from slavery, abolished taxes for the clergy and supported the poor and the poor. It was during the reign of Constantine that Christianity became the official religion throughout the vast territory of the Roman Empire.
Saint Spyridon also possessed the gift of resurrecting people. Once, when he prayed for a dead baby, he was resurrected. The child's mother, seeing this, felt such joy that she died immediately. Then the saint again prayed - and life returned to the mother of the child.

The saint was strict with people with a hardened and cruel heart. Once, when his acquaintance peasant needed a pledge against which he could borrow seeds for planting, the saint turned a living snake into a golden one and gave it to the farmer. The lender, having received such wealth as a pledge, did not want to part with it after the debt was repaid. Then the golden snake came to life and rushed at the dishonorable rich man.
Once in Thieves climbed into Spiridon's sheepfold. Immediately, an unknown force bound them with invisible bonds, from which they could not free themselves until morning. The saint, discovering the intruders in the corral in the morning, prayed - and the fetters fell off them. Briefly instructing the unlucky thieves in the Christian faith, the saint dismissed them with the words: “Take, my children, a ram, so that no one would say that you were vainly awake at night and uselessly came to that person from whom it is better to ask and receive freely than to steal '.

Soon after Emperor Constantine defeated his co-ruler, the theomist Licinius, Patriarch Alexander gathered bishops in Egypt to destroy the pagan idols in this country. From the congregational prayer of the bishops, an earthquake occurred, and the idols were thrown to the ground - all except one, the most revered by the pagans. In a dream, it was revealed to the patriarch that only one person could overthrow the idol - Bishop Spyridon of Trimifunt. The Patriarch, waking up, immediately sent a ship for him. As soon as the saint's foot touched the Egyptian coast, the idol collapsed. It was Bishop Spyridon who arrived from Cyprus, the patriarch said to the bishops, let's go to meet him as soon as possible.

I anticipate my imminent departure to another world, Saint Spyridon predicted that he would be glorified by the Lord, and those who with faith ask him for help will receive it. The saint bequeathed to his friends to work for the acquisition of a true treasure: love for God and neighbor.

Prayers to Saint Spyridon of Trimyphus
First Prayer
O great and wonderful saint of Christ and miracle worker Spiridon, the praise of Kerkir, the whole universe is a bright, warm prayer book to God and a quick intercessor to all who come running to you and pray with faith! You gloriously expounded the Orthodox faith at the Council of Nicaeas among the fathers, you showed the Unity of the Holy Trinity with miraculous power, and you have shamed the heretics to the end. Hear us, sinners, to the Holy Hierarch of Christ, praying to you and by your strong intercession with the Lord deliver us from all evil circumstances: from gladness, flood, fire and deadly ulcers. Thou didst save thy people from all these calamities in thy temporary life: thou hast saved thy country from the invasion of the Hagarians and from gladness, thou hast rescued the king from an incurable disease, and thou hast brought many sinners to repentance, thou hast gloriously raised the dead, for the holiness of thy life the Angels, invisibly in the church singing and serving you, you had. Sitse ubo glorify you, your faithful servant, Lord Christ, for you understand all the secret human deeds given to you and expose the unrighteous living. You assiduously helped many, living in poverty and lack of poverty, you nourished the poor people abundantly during the gladness, and you have created many signs with the power of the living Spirit of God in you. Do not leave us, to the saint of Christ, remember us, your children, at the Throne of the Almighty and pray to the Lord, may he grant us forgiveness of many of our sins, may he grant us a comfortable and peaceful life, the death of a life that is not shameful and peaceful, and will give eternal blessings in the future. us, let us take out glory and thanksgiving to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever.
Second prayer
O all-blessed Saint Spyridon, great servitor of Christ and glorious miracle worker! Stand in Heaven for the Throne of God with the face of an Angel, look with a merciful eye on the people coming here and asking the mighty your help. Beg the benevolence of the Man-lover God, may he not condemn us according to our iniquities, but may he do with us according to His mercy! Ask us from Christ and our God a peaceful and serene life, mental and physical health, goodness of the earth and all abundance and prosperity in everything, and let us not turn the good that is given to us from the generous God, but to His glory and glorification of your intercession! Deliver everyone, by faith beyond any doubt, to God who comes from all mental and physical troubles, from all yearning and devilish slander! Be a sad comforter, an ailing doctor, a helper in adversity, a naked patron, a patron for widows, a sane defender, a baby feeder, an old strengthener, a wandering guide, sailing helmsman, and seek all your strong help who demand everything, even to salvation, useful! Yes, yes, we instruct and observe with your prayers, we will reach into eternal rest and glorify God together with you, in the Trinity of the Holy Glorious, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer three
O blessed Saint Spyridon! Pray for the mercy of the Man-lover God, may he not condemn us according to our iniquity, but may he do with us according to His mercy. Ask us, servants of God (names), from Christ and our God a peaceful and serene life, mental and physical health. Deliver us from everyone mental and physical troubles, from all yearning and devil slander. Remember us at the throne of the Almighty and pray to the Lord, may he grant many of our sins forgiveness, a comfortable and peaceful life, may grant us, the deaths of a shameful and peaceful life and eternal blessings in the future will vouch for us, may we ceaselessly send glory and thanksgiving to the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.